Wednesday, November 24, 2010

"Marry Me" is a sweet new song by Train. Listen to it, and then imagine all the perfect times this can be played during weddings... first dance... the bride making her way down the aisle... or the new couple holding hands walking back for the recessional. Romantic!

Monday, November 22, 2010

If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook you know I've been mentioning change and rolling with the changes rather than trying to fight them. Because really, I hate change. Don't move the things on my desk, or mess with my computer. I will beat you up. Seriously. Just ask my husband. He moved a painting in the house, and now has 9 fingers. (okay, slight exaggeration...but slight)

Okay, well here is the deal-io.

Due to some long and complicated curcumstances the building that MasterPiece Weddings is in, is being taken over by the bank, and the bank wants to move in. Big business at it's finest. So the little guy has to move out.

Sooooooooooo, we are looking for a bigger and better space that will be awesometastic and incredible, and frankly, worthy of our awesometasticness!

We'll be homeless for the holidays, but the first part of next year, you'd better believe there will be a party for our new crib!!!

PS - Don't worry, if you need us, just call the office! It's all being transfered to a central number. Nothing is changing but our location.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

There are so many professionals that title themselves wedding consultant, I thought I'd run through the true professional differences.

Catering Manager aka Wedding Consultant: Your catering manager is there to make sure your menu is correct on the day of your wedding and the venue is properly staffed. The catering manager makes sure your place settings are set up correctly, and serve your food to your guests. They usually re-fill buffet, attend to beverage needs, and overall , just make sure the venue's rules are followed. If they want to attend all of your vendor meetings, go to the rehearsal organize and orchestrate that as well.... just make sure they know what they are doing. I am sure than make a mean Top Roast, but can they handle mean Aunt Martha?

Church Director aka Wedding Consultant: Your church director is there to make sure the rules of the church are followed, and it is their job to ensure that your wedding planner pulls all of their hair out. In addition, they know the minister's needs and where he likes to stand, talk, and rule the house of God.

Private Events Director aka Wedding Consultant: The Private Events Director handles the needs of an exclusive club, they make sure their members are treated as VIPs, however, they also make sure that the club member's events don't get in the way of the members golf game.

Florist/Designer aka Wedding Consultant: Obviously, handle your florals, sometimes rentals, linens, lighting, and design. Your floral designer can make sure you know the difference between and peonies and a carnation. But sometimes doesn't know the difference between Fuchsia and Raspberry.

Fashion Consultant aka Wedding Consultant: Sells you a dress. Rents you a tuxedo, knows the difference between Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta. Or Calvin Klein and J. Crew. Has amazing taste in fashion and knows what not to wear.

None of these are Wedding Consultants, although they can call themselves a wedding consultant, because, well they consult the bride.... on very limited topics. And frankly most of them are as organized as your grandma's junk drawer. (no offense, Grandma).

But your real Wedding Consultant is there for you through all of these issues, and knows the difference between a Peonies and a Carnation and what time they should be delivered. We are there to organize and orchestrate through the tremendous amount of details and make sure it all happens perfectly.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Okay, so here is my hair on a day with no product, no nothing. This is what my hair would look like if I rolled out of bed and went some where... which by the way, wouldn't EVER happen... I mean, ewwww. Gross.

Never. People would run screaming... run in the other direction. Screaming. I mean really, how not fair is my hair. Lots of Running. Lots of Screaming.

Why would any one this earth think that it would look good to go out into public with this head of hair. They wouldn't. I wouldn't, ever, never. Never. And all that grey! Where in the world did that come from!!!!

So, I decided to get the Brazilian Blowout (which by the way, everytime I say it, it sounds a little dirty) and honestly if you are considering one, go to Glenda at Creations. She will rock your hair world!

Check out what she with my mop! My mop of a head...

And, I've already washed it and styled it and I love it!! I think that anyone who lives in Florida, and has any kind of frizz to their hair should do this! Get a Brazillian Blowout!

These shoes were definately not made for walking. In fact, they are what I have dubbed my "Wedding Shoes". I have found over the years, that I must have comfy shoes for working weddings. Otherwize, there is no walking at all the day after a wedding. And then my back is killing me, and then John can't stand to hear me moan and groan... so I wear something cute for the ceremony, and then the wedding shoes come into play for the remainder of the wedding...

And these shoes, these, right here...

Yes, those are holes on the bottom of the soles.

It was a silly emotional thing for me to come to the realization that I must toss these shoes, and I could have should have thrown them out months ago, because they really had, had enough. But I couldn't. They had to see me through the remainder of our season. I mean, really, these shoes had seen alot of emotion, they had been with me through alot.

63 Weddings.

These shoes made it through 63 weddings with me. That's a lot of I Do's. A lot of running, a lot of miles of running around, a heckuvalot of secret missions, love notes, emergencies, tears, sweat, and maybe even some blood, but really... just plain a lot of stuff.

So they had to see me through the rest of our season. Had to. Must.

And now that our season is over until January (I'm sad, but also kind of glad, we needed a mini break, and the holidays are coming up... so it's fambly time).

But these shoes had to see me though Ashley and Jordan's wedding to successfully finish their mission. And they did.

And I am proud of them. I'm proud of us, and our team!

John asked me if I was going to bronze them. Sort of silly... although I did consider it.

And honestly, just thinking about the last 63 weddings makes me a bit emotional. I started wearing them before I had Gabriel, before I knew I was pregnant. Why, in the world did I wear them so long? Its not like I couldn't afford new shoes... nostaglia maybe? Comfort? Lazy?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Normally, on a regular day, you've probably seen me looking like this, my hair is naturally curly, so I just toss some product in it, and throw it back. It's easy, really easy, and looks like this (not too bad, right... I mean, it doesn't look ghetto, right?):

When I have some time, I can blow dry dry it straight, it takes 40 minutes, can still be frizzy, needs lots of products, and looks like this:

Sometimes I actually wear my hair curly and down. The problem is that it's crunchy and untouchable. Kind of kinky, sometimes it looks good, sometimes it curls whack and just looks funky. Like this:

(by the way, this was Halloween, we don't normally dress G up as a Giraffe)

So, why all this talk about my crazy hair?

Well, my friend Glenda at Creations asked me if she could do a Brazilian Blowout on me, I am not one to have anything done to my hair without really thinking about it. I mean, sheesh, I didn't even have my hair colored until about a year ago, so this would be a huge decision for me.

Here were my thoughts:

"You have very frizzy hair Melissa, you should get it done, I mean, think about the research side of it, if you have a Brazilian Blowout done, in Gainesville, you can be a tremendous assett to your clients if they have questions about having a Brazilian Blowout done...."

"Why not, what will it hurt, you can still wear your hair curly if you want to, you'll be able to step out of the shower, and not have a big frizz ball on your head.... but what if you look like you have no volume... but no frizz... but what if... okay shut up and trust Glenda!"

Monday, November 8, 2010

There are so many ways you can personalize your wedding, unique favors, beautiful custom invitations, gorgeous floral arrangements, or a super awesome monogram to use on your invitations, seals, your cake, napkins, thank you cards, a bazillion different ways, and you know how I love me some monograms!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

I've been asked a lot lately about tipping. and who to tip and how much...and do I have to, is it a must???

All of these are good legitimate questions. And here is the answer.

Yes. 20%ish. No. No.

That's the short and sweet of it.

Here are the details. You should tip anyone that does a professional service for you for your wedding. That includes any professional. And if they do an above average job for you. If the professional that is working for you royally screws up, no-tip-for-them!

The average tip about in about 20%, but it does depend on the level of your service, was it good or great? Did they exceed your expectations? If so, show them. Thank them, with a tip.

You don't have to tip, but it is a nice thank you, so when working up your budget add a bit for your professional vendors. Keeping in mind that some gratuities may already be included in some invoices for your vendors.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Today is our day take advantage of all of the opportunites we've been given, so many people have given up so much for the freedoms we take advantage of everyday.

I know that we are all sick of the phone calls during dinner, the postcards that have litered our mail boxes, the television ads, the signs on the side of the road, the billboards.... all of the attack ads.

All of the ends today, but its your turn to speak your mind and vote! I don't care who you vote for, (well, I kind of do) but either way, go out there and make stuff happen, vote! Speak your mind!